Happy Wednesday, readers! This week’s neighborhood jams is a real special edition. I will not be showcasing a particular band but instead the San Diego Music Thing! This is the 8th annual SDMT festival, and it took place last week over a span of three days at several different local venues showcasing over 80 bands – all for a good cause! The San Diego Music Thing is produced by the San Diego Music Foundation and proceeds will benefit the foundation’s music programs in 75 schools around San Diego County.

Last Thursday, November 12th, kicked off the festivities at local venues such as: The Casbah downtown, The Hideout in El Cajon, The Irenic, The Merrow and The Observatory both in North Park. The next two days these venues celebrated SDMT along with Soda Bar, Bar Pink, Ray at Night, and Blue Moon Brewing Company. The best thing about having so many different venues participating in the same venue is the eclectic atmosphere from all around.  One night the Merrow showcased just hip-hop artists such as Opoetik, DJ E3, and local Ocean Beach guys The Concrete Project. Also, Paper Days performed at the Merrow on Sunday – you can read my review on them from a few weeks ago here.

Some of my favorite bands that performed over the 3-day festival were: The Joy Formidable, L7, In the Valley Below, Yo La Tengo, and Milo Greene. Now I wish I could highlight each of the 80 bands that participated at SDMT, but that blog would be way too long and probably end up crashing on me (because of too much great rock ‘n roll, obviously.) Along with the 80 bands there were also three featured guest speakers, and this years lineup did not disappoint.  The speakers included: Greg Graffin of Bad Religion, Martin Atkins from TOUR:SMART, and Matt Vasquez from Delta Spirit. Together these guys were a power trio discussing how to make it in the rock ‘n roll business, and the audience was filled to maximum capacity with local San Diegans and each of the 80 featured bands.

Even though the San Diego Music Thing has come to a close this year you don’t have to wait until next year to make a difference. You can donate to the San Diego Music Foundation here!

Photo Credit: SDMT